Arenal Costa Rica

Real Estate Information

Lake Arenal is the best retirement and active lifestyles location in all of Costa Rica. A bold claim, but once you visit the area, you will agree. Arenal offers a tropical climate year round  never too hot or cold  with plenty of rain to keep things green and vibrant. Smart happy expats and eager productive locals make for an ever interesting day on Lake Arenal in Costa Rica.

Arenal Costa Rica

From Tilaran to Nuevo Arenal and on to the dam at the base of Volcano Arenal, we have annual temperatures range between 68 and 88 degrees fareinheit. The country side is green year round and is perfect for living in the country, retirement, fishing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, wakeboarding, riding a bicycle, motorcycle or horse and so much more. That's why Lake Arenal in Costa Rica is one of the top retirement destinations in Costa Rica.

The elevation of the community of Nuevo Arenal is approximately 1700 feet above see level on beautiful Lake Arenal in Costa Rica. This elevation gives us year round comfortable spring like temperatures.

You will witness regular stunning sunsets over lake arenal and Tilaran mountains. And you don't have to worry about missing the sunset like in the states, because it usually lasts for at least 30 minutes. Sunsets are so beautiful here in Arenal that for the first couple of years expats make it a daily habit of watching the sunset while drinking a beverage of choice. After over 15 years living on Lake Arenal, i actually have forgotten to watch the sunset! So many trees and birds and flowers to enjoy that now near the end of the day you'll find me sitting on my patio, beer in hand, enjoying the abundant wild life that frequents my farm home.

Lake Arenal drinking water is clean and fresh. Most of the towns around the lake have their own, private water districts which manage the collection and distribution of clean drinking water extracted from natural springs and some wells. With the increase in popularity and new residents, some of the water systems are seeing overload and the need to improve infrastucture.

In order to save the planet by planting trees, a number of local organizations are providing guidance and insight. La Reserva is involved in reforestation projects starting in the Tilaran mountains!

Air quality is excellent as we are surrounded by mountains, pastures and lake. The wind is steady most of the year coming from the east bringing the Atlantic ocean air and weather to the eastern edge of Lake Arenal where it meets the hot dry Pacific ocean air coming in from Guanacaste to the west. Winds can get quite turbulent over the Lake due to these two weather systems meeting.

Windsurfing, fishing, boating, hiking and other outdoor activities abound. In fact, Lake Arenal Costa Rica is known as one of the top five windsurf spots in the world during Dec to April season. But windsurfing and kiteboarding can be enjoyed year round on the lake, just depends on the weather which is so variable here. In the morning it can be stormy and rainy and windy yet by noon it's turned into a beautiful summer day with hot high sun and clear skies.

For a truly exceptional rain forest adventure experience in Costa Rica you must spend a few nights at the famous Tree Houses Hotel in San Carlos. This small but very unique jungle hotel offers three tree house homes each built high in the jungle canopy but with all the luxuries you would expect from a quality hotel experience. Only 30 minutes from Volcano Arenal and the lake, there is no other hotel in all of Costa Rica like this!

And yes, foreigners can own land in Costa Rica 100%. All property is registered through the National Registry and it's title is easy to determine. Takes five minutes on the computer from the lawyers office.

Many of you will be moving to Arenal from the united states of america and will need a place to store your junk while searching for your paradise in Costa Rica. Now there are portable storage containers avaible to rent to store your stuff in climate controlled warehouses. When you are ready to have your stuff shipped, just a phone call and out comes your container unit and shipped anywhere you are. One of the oldest and best companies is Units Storage and they will give you excellent portable storage pods service.

Now more then ever we need alternative energy systems to power our homes, in costa rica and elsewhere on the planet. If you live in California, you can have a Solar Energy system installed by Sun Pacific Solar, of Santa Barbara, CA. Solar power systems now are almost all grid-tied, that is, there is no longer a battery bank installed with the system, but instead your solar panels provide panel to the neighborhood energy grid when you do not need it, and when you need the power, you use the electricity from your solar panels direct to load. These types of solar systems save installation costs and eventually can pay for their entire investment with the money you save on electricity. For a complete history of Solar Energy, read John Perlin's books.